Syria's communities and civilizations – history, sites and heritage
Druze
Self-designation: الموحدون (al-Muwaḥḥidūn, 'monotheists')
الدروز
Religious communities
The Druze are a closed religious community that emerged from Ismaili teaching in Fatimid Cairo around 1017. In Syria they form the majority in As-Suwayda governorate (Jabal al-Druze) and also live near Damascus (Jaramana, Sahnaya), in Jabal al-Summaq in Idlib and on the eastern side of Mount Hermon.
Druze doctrine spread from Cairo around 1017 under Hamza ibn Ali and centres on the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim (r. 996-1021). The name comes from Muhammad al-Darazi; the community calls itself al-Muwahhidun. In Syria the Druze provided much of the military force of the Great Syrian Revolt of 1925-27 under Sultan al-Atrash.
Sources and details
The Druze permit no conversion to or from their religion, and only initiates ('uqqal) fully take part in services. Maqam Ain al-Zaman in As-Suwayda is described as the community's headquarters in Syria. Jabal al-Druze has around 120 exclusively Druze villages.
The Druze were estimated at about 3 percent of the population, roughly 700,000 people, before the war (EUAA; U.S. State Department). In July 2025 violence in As-Suwayda governorate killed more than 1,700 people according to the UN Commission of Inquiry; the EUAA summarises waves of violations by government forces and tribal fighters against Druze civilians and by Druze armed groups against Bedouin civilians, and nearly 200,000 people were displaced.
Sites connected with this community 4
- As-Suwayda National MuseumAs-Suwayda, Suwayda · Museums
Regional museum of the Druze-majority governorate.
- Jabal al-DruzeSuwayda · Nature
The mountain region of As-Suwayda, more than 90 percent Druze.
- Maqam Ain al-Zaman (Druze religious headquarters)As-Suwayda, Suwayda · Other religious sites · location not shown (sensitive)
Maqam Ain al-Zaman, described as the Druze headquarters in Syria (sensitive: no point location).
- Church of Qalb LozeQalb Loze (Jabal al-Summaq), Idlib · Churches & monasteries
5th-century basilica in a Druze village of Jabal al-Summaq.
Sources (5)
These categories describe history, language and faith – not exclusive identities. Many Syrians belong to several, and some names refer to civilizations of the past.